From: George A. Gleason <gg@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 92 03:07:32 PST
To: tcmay@netcom.com
Subject: Re:  (fwd) A Silver Bullet to Limit Crypto?
Message-ID: <199211121106.AA25693@well.sf.ca.us>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Regarding key registration proposals.  

Tim's critiques shed a most interesting light on this problem.  They also
point to parallels with voter registration:

It has been well-known for some time that requiring people to register some
time in advance of an election, causes a decline in participation.  This
decline is most evident among the disadvantaged sector of the population,
for various reasons including inability to take time off from work.  Were
the disadvantaged to vote en masse, they would most likely weigh in on the
side of substantial change, particularly change which would shift the
balance of power in a more socially equitable direction.  As the
powers-that-be prefer to maintain the status quo, they are quite satisfied
with the fact that the disadvantaged aren't voting in larger numbers.
Hence Republican administrations have (in recent history) blocked efforts to
simplify and ease voter registration, as for instance the "motor voter bill"
which would automatically create a voter registration when someone gets a
driver's licence or car registration.

The United States is the world's only remaining Western democracy which
requires advance voter registration.  This practice had its roots in
attempts to prevent newly naturalised US citizens from voting, again, the
result of prejudice and desire to maintain the status quo.  Now that the
Dems are in power, we might consider tying the crypto key issue to the
elimination of voter registration, on the basis that both voting and digital
communication are forms of speech which should not be subjected to a
chilling effect.  

Rapid promulgation of decent user-friendly PKSs looks pretty essential at
this point.  I'm thinking, how about approaching Apple to see if they'll
include a PKS along with their Macs, as bundled software, sort of like
Hypercard.  Even if the PKS which is used, has some problem with is, as for
instance the old trapdoor-knapsack system, **anything** is preferable to
nothing at all when it comes to getting the public educated.  Does anyone
here know any of the main people at Apple...?  What do you think they'd have
to say about bundling privacy software along with Macs?

-gg